I recently needed to buy some new breathable chest waders for a winter trip to the Tongariro, and the Traper Brook waders caught my eye.
Three features attracted my attention:
1. Colour: They are dark olive or khaki, which I prefer to light grey or stone.
2. Design: No seams on the inside of the legs, which is where all of my previous waders failed first - caused by friction from walking and wading.
3. Price: An affordable NZ $399.
Traper is a Polish based fly fishing gear company. Their Brook waders are made from three-layer Aqualite, a Korean manufactured abrasion resistant breathable material.
The design of the Traper Brook waders is pleasingly simple, with no zipper down the front and no height adjustment on the straps.
From my perspective, keeping things simple means less can go wrong - and since I don’t use waders in summer, height adjustment is unnecessary.
For personal storage, there's a front pocket with a water proof zipper that easily holds a fly box and tippet material, and an inside pocket that's plenty large enough for a cell phone, wallet and fishing licence!
The waders have reinforced built in loops for the elasticised wading belt, so you won’t lose the belt when taking off your waders in the car park.
A note on sizing
The size chart for the Traper Brook Waders seems a bit unusual.
My measurements on their website suggest I would be a Medium, but the size that fitted me best in the end was a Large King.
I am 5 ft 11 and weigh 85 kg, and my previous waders were a Large. The Brook Large was much too tight, though.
My advice would be to consider going a size larger. If you usually wear a Medium wader, try a Medium King, and if you usually take a Large go for a Large King.
At the time of writing I've done eight outings in my new Traper Brook waders, meaning around 24 hours waist deep in strong Tongariro winter flows and walking about 30 km. The waders are light weight and extremely comfortable, and more importantly, they breathe well but don’t leak.
The thick neoprene socks are very comfortable and the neoprene gravel guards are the first I've used that have managed to keep gravel out of my low cut Orvis Ultralight wading boots.
I could not be happier with the Traper Brooks waders, and so far don’t have a single complaint.
Time will tell how they shape up in the durability test. Watch this space for an update.
The Traper Brook waders are available from I Love Fly Fishing, New Zealand.
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